Stearin

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Stearin \Ste"a*rin\ (st[=e]"[.a]*r[i^]n), n. [Gr. ste`ar tallow,
     suet: cf. F. st['e]arine.] (Physiol. Chem.)
     One of the constituents of animal fats and also of some
     vegetable fats, as the butter of cacao. It is especially
     characterized by its solidity, so that when present in
     considerable quantity it materially increases the hardness,


     or raises the melting point, of the fat, as in mutton tallow.
     Chemically, it is a compound of glyceryl with three molecules
     of stearic acid, and hence is technically called tristearin,
     or glyceryl tristearate.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  stearin
       n : an ester of glycerol and stearic acid